Languages › French French Silent Letters and Pronunciation Share Flipboard Email Print Tetra Images/Getty Images French Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Grammar Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Updated February 21, 2020 One of the difficulties with French pronunciation is that it is not a phonetic language. A phonetic language (e.g., Spanish, Arabic) is one in which each letter has a single corresponding sound; in other words, spelling matches the pronunciation. Other languages, like French and English, are not phonetic: they have letters that can be pronounced in different ways or sometimes not at all. There are three categories of silent letters in French. E muet / ElisionH muet and aspiréFinal consonants This lesson will focus on final consonants; follow the links to the right for detailed explanations of the silent letters E and H. The basic rule of French pronunciation is that the final consonant is not pronounced, but there are many exceptions, which are what this lesson is about.* The letters B, C, F, K, L, Q, and R are usually pronounced at the end of a word. Tip: Since B, K, and Q are rare as final consonants, some people find it helpful to use the word CaReFuL to remember the most common of the usually pronounced final consonants. Usually pronounced Some exceptions* B le Maghrebun snobun club le plomb C un trucun flicavec un estomac, un tabac, le porcnasal vowel + c: un banc, blanc F actifun chefun oeuf un nerf, une clef, oeufs K un anorakun lookle bifteck L ilavrilun hôtelun bol gentil, outil; vowel + -il: à l'appareil, un oeil The other French consonants are usually silent at the end of a word, with some exceptions. Tip: Many exceptions are proper names or words borrowed from other languages. Usually silent Some exceptions* D froidchaudd'accord sud; Proper names: David, Alfred G le sanglong le grog M, N unbalconparfum Latin words: amen, forum P un drapbeaucoupun champ un slip, un cap S exprèstroisvousbas un fils, un autobus, le tennis T etabricotsalutvingt brut, ouest, huit; -ct ending: direct, strict; -pt ending: concept, sept X deuxun prixun époux six, index, Aix Z chezle riz le gaz Note: The words plus and tout have their own pronunciation rules. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation ThoughtCo. "French Silent Letters and Pronunciation." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/french-silent-letters-and-pronunciation-4078906. ThoughtCo. (2020, August 26). French Silent Letters and Pronunciation. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/french-silent-letters-and-pronunciation-4078906 ThoughtCo. "French Silent Letters and Pronunciation." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-silent-letters-and-pronunciation-4078906 (accessed February 27, 2021). copy citation